The Best Beaches for a Winter Stroll, According to Sophie Buhai

At the end of winter, as the winds continue to whip and temperatures dip to bone-chilling lows, many of us find ourselves longing for a tropical getaway. Not so for the jewelry designer Sophie Buhai, whose latest discretely luxurious collection is inspired by the “kind of woman who wears a black suit to collect rocks and shells” along solemn, frosty shores. “I love going to the beach in the winter when no one’s there and it’s empty and grey,” Buhai says by phone from her home in Los Angeles. “It’s much more romantic.”

For the new mid-century-esque Fall 2019 range, modeled by Camilla Deterre, Buhai spent months searching for the perfect shells, ones that “naturally work with the shape of the body. If it’s a really amorphous shape, it can look beautiful as an object on a table, but the way it hangs on a neck or ear might be awkward.” That guiding principle led the Parsons graduate to land on oyster pendants that nestle between the collarbones, palm-sized pearl nautilus brooches, and variegated abalone collars (all handcrafted and set by L.A. artisans) that fall into line with the season's more “classic” silver rings, bangles, and hoops.

“To me, it’s always about doing things sort of backward and not the obvious way,” says Buhai, who plans to pair the pieces with a “huge wool coat and scarf” while crossing beaches far and wide—just not of the sun-streaked, bikini-dotted sort. “Usually I’m looking more for interesting components like crazy rock formations than just beautiful sand and water,” she explains. “I’m into the terrain, even if it means it’s hard to swim.”

Below, Sophie Buhai shares her favorite seashores, from a swimming hole in Puglia (“It’s like you’re swimming in a huge sculpture,” she muses) to a California coastline covered in Barbara Hepworth-like stones.

Santa Cesarea Treme in Puglia, ItalyThis is more of a swimming hole than a beach. The pool is naturally carved into a massive rock set against the cliffs. It looks like a giant Land Art sculpture, but it's totally nature made. Completely surreal.

Point Dume in Malibu, CaliforniaMy favorite local beach. You have to park in a residential area and hike down a mountain to get here. A wonderful place for a winter beach picnic when it's empty. Incredible rock formations set into the sand, tide pools, and cliffs.

Agate Beach in Bolinas, CaliforniaI love this beach because it's like walking through a Barbara Hepworth sculpture park. The sand is filled with all sizes of stones in deep blacks and greys with naturally occurring holes in them. A great place to collect unusual rocks.